SMMT chief urges 'ambitious free trade agreement' with EU

Mike Hawes, chief executive of SMMT, the UK’s automotive trade body, made the appeal on the publication today (January 30, 2020) of figures showing a 14.2 per drop in car production in 2019.

The drop to 1,303,135 units has been attributed to factors including weakened domestic consumer and business confidence, weaker demand from overseas markets, model production changes, and less appetite for diesel models.

No deal Brexit ‘not an option’ warns SMMT chief

SMMT said also that factory closures - timed to mitigate disruption arising from the anticipated departure from the EU on 29 March and 31 October - had a ‘marked effect’.

A total of 247,138 vehicles were made for the home market in 2019, a year-on-year fall of 12.3 per cent, whilst cars made for export fell 14.7 per cent to 1,055,997 units.

Shipments to the EU fell 11.1 per cent but remains the sector’s most important market, with SMMT adding that trade with the UK’s next largest markets, the US (18.9 per cent of exports), China (5.3 per cent) and Japan (3.2 per cent) also fell, with exports down 9.8 per cent, 26.4 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively.